Tuesday, August 30, 2011

We survived the first week of school and are ready for more. It's really hot here too so it's been nice to use the pool after homework as a way to unwind and cool off. Things at work are really crazy but I'll have my full crew back from vacations soon and we can even the workload a bit.

Now for last week's pictures:

Day 232: Saturday, 8/20/11

New haircuts for the new school year. It also feels cooler with shorter hair in this heat, and they like how much easier it is to comb in the mornings.

Day 233: Sunday, 8/21/11

Tyler, John, and Justin worked together to make the family tacos for dinner. It's always a treat to have the boys in the kitchen cooking. Tyler only has 5 more years before he heads off to college so he wants to learn how to make all his favorite dishes.

Day 234: Monday, 8/22/11

It's our 19th wedding anniversary! We were able to spend the day together and went out for a nice sunset dinner on the river at Rio City Cafe in Old Sacramento. The food was wonderful but the company was even better ;0)

Day 235: Tuesday, 8/23/11

The backpacks are all loaded and ready to go for tomorrow. The kids are actually excited and eager to start hitting the books again or should I say socialize with their friends on a daily basis.

Day 236: Wednesday, 8/24/11

It's the first day of the new school year and my boys are all uniformed up and ready to go. Tyler starts 8th grade, Justin 5th, and Brandon 2nd. This will be the last year we have them all at the same school--Bridgeway Island K-8.

Day 237: Thursday, 8/25/11

The start of school means the start of homework. Yesterday I had all the homework with multiple forms to fill out but today everyone else had their share. Poor Justin always seems to end up with the most.

Day 238: Friday, 8/26/11

No more tub for us. I finally have my last child happy about taking showers. It's so much easier this way--less time and less hassle.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Summer is officially over. The kids start school tomorrow. So much for our nice relaxing afternoons. I hate homework just as much as they do. It's just another chore we all have to get through at the end of the day. At least we had a fabulous summer break and packed a lot of fun in there. Maybe this school year will fly by and summer will be here again before we know it.

Here are last week's pictures:

Day 225- Saturday, 8/13/11

I took Justin to a Dr.'s appointment so Tyler was in charge of watching Brandon. My rule is no video games while I'm away because to really watch his brother he has to interact with and engage him so they decided to build one of Brandon's birthday gifts together. They were both so proud of what they accomplished they couldn't wait to show me when I got home. I could tell they really had a good time together. Maybe I should leave them more often!

Day 226- Sunday, 8/14/11

I'm mopping floors which means all the chairs get moved to the living room. The kids usually think I've built some sort of cool jungle gym just for them to climb all over. As long as they stay off my wet floor, I'm fine with that.

Day 227- Monday, 8/15/11

I had to run into work for a couple hrs this morning but I'm mostly off this week to spend time with the boys before they head back to school. As a special treat I picked up a box of donuts on my way home that we could all enjoy together. They were pleasantly surprised and I even got a few "you're the best mom ever" comments.

Day 228- Tuesday, 8/16/11

The dreaded back-to-school shopping. So glad to be done with that. Some people enjoy it, but I'm not a big fan. At least we went at a time that was not crowded and got it over with quickly. Those supply lists seem to get longer and longer each year.

Day 229- Wednesday, 8/17/11

The boys had an end-of-summer slumber party with their friends and spent a great deal of time in the pool. Tyler invited Ryan and Cameron while Justin invited Jason, Cameron's younger brother. They also played a lot of video games, had a Nerf-gun war, and took some turns knocking balls around the pool table. It was a fun way to wrap up the summer break.

Day 230- Thursday, 8/18/11

Bella came in this morning to find her living room taken over by strange boys' sleeping bags. After a good sniff or two she found a familiar smell and decided to park it on Tyler's bag. He must have left it there for her, right?

Day 231- Friday, 8/19/11

Here's a happy guy. TGIF! John is mixing up some tunes and some drinks. It's been hard for him going to work all week while the rest of us were home but he has a nice long weekend ahead and knows how to kick it off right.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

I'm off from work this week so I can stay home with the boys for their last few days before school starts. We have no major plans except to have some fun here and there while also getting a few household chores done.

Enjoy last week's pictures-

Day 218- Saturday, 8/6/11

While on our coastal camping trip we hit up 10 mile beach just north of Fort Bragg. It was a little chilly and foggy but the boys didn't seem to mind. They had a blast running in the waves and playing in the sand.

Day 219- Sunday, 8/7/11

Gotta love morning bed head especially when camping ;0) This is our last day on the coast. We'll pack up and head home right after breakfast.

Day 220- Monday, 8/8/11

Halloween already? A costume catalog came in the mail today, and Justin spent a great deal of time trying to decide what he wants to be. I seriously cannot think that far ahead.

Day 221- Tuesday, 8/9/11

We've been home from camping for a couple days now but things are still drying out. It was VERY damp on the coast so we had to set up a drying station in our garage. At least its hot here so we'll be ready to pack it all away soon.

Day 222- Wednesday, 8/10/11

The kids and I were watching America's Got Talent when Brandon called me upstairs to see his "talent." You can tell from the huge, real smile on his face how proud he is to be able to climb our walls. Just what I need--a spider monkey to add to the mix.

Day 223- Thursday, 8/11/11

Bella has perfected downward dog while wagging that tail of hers. This is clearly her favorite yoga pose as she does it all the time.

Day 224- Friday, 8/12/11

Today at work I'm preparing parasite cultures for my absence next week. These are my "other children." I've got to feed and tend to them 3 times a week, and I hope my new lab assistant will take good care of them while I'm gone. It's so hard to let go.

Wait! Just one more . . .

August's Family Photo

Here we are on our camping trip. It seemed like a good time for a family photo.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Happy Tuesday! It's been another fun, busy week, and now I'm looking forward to doing a whole lot of nothing except maybe play catch up on day to day things. I might also catch the evening news which hasn't happened pretty much since swim team started in April! Summer is winding down :0( It's the last week of day camp which is hard to imagine. How can that be? Time to start the dreaded back-to-school shopping and prepare everyone for a new year of learning.

Enjoy last week's pictures-

Day 211- Saturday, 7/30/11

It's a good day for a party! Today is Brandon's 7th birthday party. Parties are a lot of work, and I can only handle one a year so my 3 boys take turns having big birthday bashes. This year it's Brandon's turn, and he was so excited and thrilled. We had a house full of kids (6 younger ones and 6 older ones) and lots of great friends over to celebrate his special day. The last big party for him was at age 4 which he barely remembers, but this will be one he won't forget!

Day 212- Sunday, 7/31/11

Happy Birthday to my youngest son! Today is Brandon's actual birthday and since he shares a birthday with Harry Potter one of his wishes was to see the Deathly Hallows Part II on their birthday. This is one wish we can actually make come true--him turning into a dog, not so much ;0)

Day 213- Monday, 8/1/11

Seriously! It's August already? This year is flying by. Justin was more than happy to be my monthly marker as he posed by the pool even in the hot, bright, August sun. Those blue eyes are so sensitive to the light.

Day 214- Tuesday, 8/2/11

Brandon has a bunch of birthday money burning a hole in his pocket so we made a trip to Target where he could pick out some gifts. I love how he's pointing at one toy while eying another. Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Day 215- Wednesday, 8/3/11

Justin made this paper frog at camp and did a great job detailing the face--love that tongue. It jumps amazingly well too. The boys would rather stay home for the summer than go to camp, but I like the different creative things camp allows them to do. Not only do they make a lot of cool stuff but they also go on a lot of fun field trips. If they stayed home they would sit in front of the TV playing video games all summer, and I'm not OK with that.

Day 216- Thursday, 8/4/11

Tyler set up a Nerf-gun fort in the hall and played with his brothers after camp. They get very creative building their barricades.

Day 217- Friday, 8/5/11

We headed to the coast and are camping at Caspar Beach just south of Fort Bragg, CA for the weekend. John and Tyler work well together and have a good system down for getting our tent set up. I love the lush greenery here, and we soon found out why it's so lush--lots of misty fog. Good thing we packed warm clothes.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

What a busy week it's been, and I thought with swim team over things would slow down--ha! At least it's been fun, but it looks like we'll stay busy until school starts. We are quickly running out of time to do everything we wanted for the summer, but we'll try. Only 2 weeks left of summer camp and then we're home for a week to hopefully chill before school starts. How can it be that time already? I can't even think about it.

Here are last week's pictures-

Day 204- Saturday, 7/23/11

Last swim meet of the season! We are here at Champs and there is a lot of waiting between events as they get through the swimmers on 4 different teams. At least Brandon and Justin know how to make the most of it.

Day 205- Sunday, 7/24/11

Day 2 of champs. Justin waits for his race at the ready bench. It was my job this season to help the 9-10 boys make it to this tent before all their events which wasn't always easy. There was a lot of running around and very little down time for me.

Day 206- Monday, 7/25/11

Brandon is helping print out activities for his upcoming birthday party. Family Fun on-line had some great Toy Story birthday ideas and printables. He's way excited and can't hardly wait.

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Day 207- Tuesday, 7/26/11
Who knew you could get promotions past a black belt? Well Tyler's on it and is now earning stars to add to his gi in Ju-Jitsu.

Day 208- Wednesday, 7/27/11

Today was a great day to go to the California State Fair--good weather and not too many people. We all had a great time but stayed out way too late.

Day 209- Thursday, 7/28/11

It wouldn't be summer without a flip-flop tan. I love these flip-flops. They are old and tired, but I can't bare to part with them because they go well with everything I wear and are the most comfortable ones I own.

Day 210- Friday, 7/29/11

I came home early from work so I could bang out the cake for Brandon's party Saturday. He was eager to see how it would turn out but not really much help.

One last photo--

July's Family Photo

Taken at the fair. We're all hot and tired but that's how you know we had big fun!